Breaking bad habits and becoming the better you

I think everybody at some point has had a bad habit. This could be smoking, biting nails, eating too much, and this can leave you feeling defeated, lousy and lethargic. We're coming up to Christmas which is a time for family and celebration, however, after we leave the festive period we often then shift our focus back onto ourselves and this is where we started think about renewal and improvement.

So, what tips could I offer you to help you kick the habit?

The first thing that you'll have to do is acknowledge the whole problem. By acknowledging your problem, what you're saying to yourself is that you're ready to take this head-on, you are ready to engage and explore different aspects of yourself and be committed to that change.

Another suggestion, is to think about an approach which is good for you. Hypnotherapy can help you relax, and explore the reasons why you might be partaking in a habit and give you the tools to help break that successful cycle. A few sessions could be the key difference between continuing on a life of unwanted habits or being free to do the things that you want to do without being overshadowed by this unsavoury habit.

Group psychology can also be important, it is said that people who share the same goal often succeed rather than those who go too long. Consider nail biting, if you are in a group of people who constantly bite their nails, there is very little motivation to change, yet, if you put yourself in a group of people who have perfect nails, and don't bite their nails there is more motivation for you to change. It's worth a thought.

It is important that you are good to yourself during a period of change, again this is to do with motivation. If you not good yourself, and you don't reward yourself for working so hard, what's the point? Make sure that you have rewards in place, something to look forward to, something to make you feel as if this journey is a right for you.

If things do go wrong, and we have bad days, and we fall off the wagon of change; this is not necessarily something which we must be hard on ourselves for. What we should be doing at this point is saying: why did this happen? Is there a way that I can ensure that this does not happen again? What we need here is more investigation before we move on to the reparation. If you leave something unexplored, or something is out of place, then it may need to you being unsuccessful.

I would not suggest doing anything before Christmas. At Christmas there is a lot of celebration, food, booze, sleeping, and sometimes stress. It is all part and parcel of Christmas. Make sure that you were in the right space, with plenty of support around you at the right time for you. Change is only effective if you are ready for it, if you rush in there, you may be leading yourself into unnecessary disappointment.

In conclusion, think what you'd like to change, think the best way that you going to do that, think what support you need, and make that difference when you're ready. I wish you the best of luck in your change journey.

About the author

I am Brian Turner and I am a therapist that uses different therapies and techniques to promote an active well-being in all of my clients. I have had resounding success with resolving unwanted habits, and thought patterns.